Opinion
Letters

Pet ownership comes with responsibilities

Do you have 420,000 friends who want to adopt a cat? That is about how many cats will be produced in seven years by your cat, (and its young), if you don’t spay her.

At an average of five kittens per litter, and with each female having three litters per year that is how many they can produce. They also can get pregnant as young as four months old when they are still not fully grown. Then their own growth is stunted to feed their growing unborn kittens. Being so small, they have difficulty in birthing their young.

People who have tired of their pets dump them on the outskirts of the city rather than bring them to the Humane Society. They often forget there are predators that are quite fond of a meal of kitties.

Being a house cat, they haven’t been taught to hunt and stay safe in the wild by their mothers, and easily become a meal for something higher up the food chain. The cold winters also kill off many of those that don’t have the luxury of a warm home, nutritious food and the love of a caring family.

You don't need to dump your unwanted pets. The North Bay and District Humane Society works tirelessly to bring those wanting pets and families together. Many fosterers spend months with the cats who come in pregnant or with kittens and raise them until weaned and old enough to be spayed or neutered then adopted.

There are “kitten cams” that are online live 24/7 to allow us to see everything from the miracle of birth through to their adoptions, when they go to their “furr‑ever” families.

When it comes to adoption of any pet, you are adopting these pets for life. Both theirs and yours. They can live as long as 20 years. However, if you die first, you need a plan in place to whom your beloved pet will go. These pets are part of your family. They don’t deserve to be cast away like junk. So before you think about adopting, be very sure of the responsibilities that there are in having a pet. That is unless you have 240,000 friends who want to adopt a cat.

D. Brisson

North Bay

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